Posted on 09/11/2008 5:45:36 AM PDT by thackney
As Ike nears, Port of Houston, refineries prepare
The Port of Houston is closing tonight as Hurricane Ike approaches, most coastal refineries will make storm decisions today, and offshore energy facilities are extending precautions they took just a week ago for Hurricane Gustav.
The Barbours Cut and Bayport terminals will shut down at noon today, and the port will close to all vessel traffic at midnight, spokeswoman Argentina James said.
The Port's 25-mile-long complex is a hub in the nation's energy network.
Forecasts Wednesday evening projected Ike would come ashore Saturday between Corpus Christi and Galveston.
Port Freeport, about 65 miles south of Houston in a mandatory evacuation zone for Brazoria County, shut down early Wednesday afternoon and expects to reopen Monday, Chief Executive Pete Reixach said.
As vessel traffic declined, gasoline retailers were gearing up for a possible surge of evacuating motorists.
Motiva, a refining and retail gasoline joint venture between Shell Oil Co. and Saudi Arabia's state-owned Aramco, said in a prepared statement that its coastal service stations and refueling terminals were being stocked up in anticipation of higher demand.
Shell-branded stations also were setting up generators to keep pumps running in the case of a power outage.
Even so, Motiva urged drivers to fill up early and not wait until the last minute.
Valero was working with the State of Texas to make sure its stations get special deliveries along evacuation routes so they can stay open as long as possible, spokesman Bill Day said.
Cutbacks at ConocoPhillips
Most refiners and chemical plants said Wednesday they would wait for this morning's hurricane tracking models before making final decisions about their operations.
ConocoPhillips' refinery in Sweeny, which can process up to 249,000 barrels of oil per day, already has reduced production...
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Gulp.
The tiny line, which is the track, goes right over my house in Southwest Houston.
We’re hunkered in. Water, Ice, Batteries, gas range, Coleman lantern.
We expect to lose electricity. It goes out during the slightest windstorm.
Most of the power in our neighborhood is underground. I'm expecting (hoping) any power outages will be short lived as little is exposed to possible tree/wind damage.
We are loading up the freezers and refrigerator with milk jugs filled with water. It helps them stay colder longer with a power outage.
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